Refrigerator car construction



July 9,l 1940.

v. E. wEsT REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 28, 1939 3Sheets-Sheet l llllllllll u Imfn. m',V of E MS2" ilirl July 9, 1940- v.E. wEsT 2,207,674

REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Apil 28, 1939 :s sheets-sheet 2 l 4I4 Nm um NN. NN M NN NN I.

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July 9, 1940.

v v. E. wEls-r REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 28, 1939'ligger Inbfedw C520 la @SZL vjacent the roof 3 and adjacent a wall 2.

Patented Jul-y 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT AOFFICE f REFRIGERATOR CARCONSTRUCTIGN Victor E. West, New Kensington, Pa., assigner to StandardRailway Refrigerator Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of DelawareApplication April 28, 1939, Serial No. 270,500

17 Claims.

stall and easy to remove when repairs or replacement is necessary.

Another object is to provide means for the unobstructed circulation ofair around the container.

Another is to provide means to support the container and hold it inplace in the car.

Another is to provide a plurality of beams from `which lading such asdressed meat can be conveniently suspended.

Another is to provide supporting means for the insulating materials inthe roof of the car.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a typical cross section through a refrigerator carincorporating my improved construction.

Fig. 2 is a section taken longitudinally of. the car on line 2 2 of Fig.l.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1 to show thearrangement of container supports and carlines.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of Fig. 4. The insulated 4-partition is not shownin order to more clearly show the detail of the carline.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 8 6 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a. portion of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 1.

My invention is adaptable to a refrigerator car having spaced apartwalls 2, an insulated roof 3, an insulated floor 4, a foraminous flooror floor rack 5 above the insulated floor, and anairspace Bbetween saidfloors.

A` refrigerant container 8 is positioned sub- A hatch opening 9 isprovided preferably in the roof of the car above the refrigerantcontainer 8 for filling it with a refrigerant, removing the refrigerantor cleaning the container. The hatch opening 9 may be provided with theusual plug, lid, locking and supporting mechanisms. A drain having aclosing valve may also be provided for the container.

Under certain conditions frost will on .the bottom I0 of container 8. Topre# vent melted frost from dripping onto the lading, an insulatedpartition II provided withl a form i drip pan I2 is positioned below andspaced from the container. The space I3 between the container bottom I8and the partition II forms a flue so that air may circulate therethroughand be cooled by contact with the chilled container '5 bottom I0.

To support the container 8 above the partition Il metallic spools I4 and34 are provided. These spools are arranged in spaced relationship to.each other and have their upper ends I5 secured to the 10 containerbottom I0. In the drawings I have shown the spools I4 and 34 securedtothe container bottom by Welding but any other suitable means ma-y beused. The lower ends- I6 of the spools I4 and 34 are adapted to restupon the 16 drippan I2 of partition II.

To support the partition I'I I provide carlines Il upon which'thepartition rests. These carlines Il extend transversely of the car andhave their ends I 8 secured to the car walls 2 2. the above describedconstruction the entire Weight of the refrigerant container 8, therefrigerant within the container, and the partition II is carried by thecarlines I'I.

In the preferred form .of my improvement the .25

members 2'I span the spaces 28 between the ends .40 vof adjacentcontainers 8 8 and support the' insulation thereabove.l At the eaves Iprovide the -sheet metal members 29 to support the roof insulation,

To prevent the refrigerant container 8` from :45

shifting due to service movements of the car a plurality of dependingstuds or dowel pins I9 pro- 'truding below the roof 3 are provided. Thestuds lI!! v vare rigidly secured to the roof structure preferably to amember such as a roof carline 28 by 50 welding or other suitable means.The sides 2l of the container 8 are provided with outwardly extendingflanges 22 having holes of suitable size arranged and positioned so asto engage the studs I9 when the container 8 is in position.

With f2s This arrangement is shown in '30 The top 24 of container 8 willsupport that .them off an end of the carline.

Another means for preventing shifting of the refrigerant container isprovided by securing an upwardly extending metallic member 3i) to thetop of a carline Il; this ma-y be accomplished by any suitable means butI prefer to weld member 30 to carline Il'. Member 3G is positioned onthe carline l1 so that when container 8 having a spool 34 is assembledin the car with partition Il and carline il the member 36 will extendthrough a hole 3i provided in partition Il and enter the hollow spool 34engaging the inside of the wall 3.2 thereof.

I have also found it desirable to tie the container 3, the partition lland the carline l together by some readily releasable means. For thispurpose a depending bolt 33, having its upper end 35 anchored within ahollow spool 34 and its shank 35 extending through the member 3G so thatits lower end Sl extends through a hole 38 in carline l1 and is adaptedto receive a nut 39 or other suitable securing means, is provided.

In the conventional refrigerator car lused for transporting meats, a.meat rack positioned near the roof and extending over the lading spaceis generally provided. Such a rack generally consists of beams extendingtransversely of the car between the walls in combination with andsupporting -rods or rails spaced on fixed centers and extendinglengthwise of the car above the lading space.

With my improved construction a meat rack is not necessary as I proposeto utilize the carlines il from which to hang a lading such as isgenerally suspended from a meat rack. In the preferred form of myimproved refrigerator car construction the carlines Il are of aninverted U section having the depending sides 49 of the U terminating inoutwardly and upwardly extending anges il of uniform width throughoutthe entire length of the carline. For attaching or suspending a lading Iprovide the members 152 having their central portions shaped to suitablyengage with the conventional type of meat hook i3 and their ends 134rebent so as to .engage the flanges il of carline i7 when the member 42is in an operative position. A predetermined number of the members l2may be placed on each carline by sliding them on before the carline ispositioned in the car. After the carline Il is assembled together withtheother elements of the car superstructure the members' l2 are theftproof as they can be disengaged only by sliding The slidable featuredescribed above is an advantage over the fixed spacing of thelongitudinally extending members of the conventional `meat rack as theattaching members d'2 automatically space themselves according to thesize of the package suspended therefrom.

To simplify the installation of the carlines I'l I provide thelongitudinally extending members 5I suitably spaced above and parallelto the car 'line Il' adjacent the end thereof. Inl the preferredAconstruction a `member-'5l extending sub- .2,207,674 stantially thefulllength of the car is provided i for each of the opposite walls 2 2,each of said members having a. pluralityof spaced apart gapsk 55, saidgaps being spaced to bring them underl the ends of the carlines i7 whenassembled. Relatively short members 56 having their ends 5l' adapted torest on the shelf 5d with, their central portions 58 spanning thegaps`55- are pro-y vided to support the ends of the carlines il. The'members 55 preferably are secured to both the longitudinally extendingmembers 5l and the carlines l'l after assembly in the car; Carlinesinstalled as described above are easily put in placeor removed withoutdisturbing the car wall structure.

To provide a circulatory system wherebythe air cooled by the refrigerantmay enter the lading spaceand the air warmed by the lading may enter thecooling chamber I provide in or near the walls 2 2 a vertical duct 43extending from near theiloor 4 to near theroof 3, `saidduc't having itsupper portion i4 communicating with the space I3 between containerbottom ,lil and partition l! and having its lower portion communicatingwith the space f5 between the iioor The vertical duct L33 is sepa- Aofthe car are spaced apart to provide lan air passageway l5 adjacent thelongitudinal center of the car through which the warm air rises "andmoves into the refrigerant chambers on: opposite sides of the car. Theinclined partitions l l di- .rect the air warmed by vthe lading into andthrough the passageway Q5. f

The margins of the inclined partitions il adjacent the passageway d5 maylbe `pro-vided with insulated members iextending upwardly therefrom soas to further rraise the bottom of the air entrance ports into therefrigerant chamber above the lower portion of the inclined partition Ilso as to cooperate with the inclined partition to direct the movement ofcirculation of air.

These members d@ are spaced away from the .refrigerant containers toprovide fiuesY il therebetween.

The insulated partition! i vbelow the container 8 and the insulatedpartition 55 between the side n wall 2 and the lading space areassociated to forma continuous uninterruptedfinsulation from thepassageway l5 to the'foraminous oor 5. The space I3 below therefrigerant container 8 land the duct 43 between theinsulated'pafrtition A5l] and the wall-2 are associated and arranged toprovide a continuous uninterrupted air fluefor i circulating air fromthe passageway l5 to v'the lspace 6 below theforaminous floor 5 so thatIheat from the lading space cannot be absorbed by the cold aircirculating until the air has reached the space below the fo-razninousfloor. Therefore air warmed by the `lading will rise vupwardly andbeguidedty the inclined `partition. al into the passageway 45 and enterthe refrigerating chamber A`where it will be cooled and 4densirled bytherefrigerant in container and therefore will dej,-

scend through iiue il and move dcvflnwardly along the kinclinedpartition H until it .reaches the vertical `wall ductA 43 which :it,descends` by .gravity `.into the space l5 below the :foraminous vfloorfrom whence it rises to replace the aforesaid warmed air.

'I'he accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of theinvention, though it is tobe understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as itis obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of theclaims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim: l

1. In a refrigerator car having spaced apart insulated car walls, aninsulated roof, an insulated floor, a foraminous floor above theinsulated oor, an air space between said floors, in combination with arefrigerant container positioned under the roof and adjacent a wall,supporting means for said container, said means `comprising a pluralityof metallic spools having their upper ends secured to the bottom of saidcontainer and their lower ends resting on an .insulated partition spacedfrom the botto-m of said container so as to provide a flue therebetweenfor the circulation of air under said container.

2. In a refrigerator car having spaced apart insulated car walls, aninsulated. roof, an insulated floor, a foraminous floor above theinsulated floor, an air space between said floors, and a duct associatedwith a wall exten-ding substantially from top to bottom of said wall,the lower portion of said duct communicating with said air space incombination with a refrigerant container positioned under the roof andadjacent said wall, supporting means for said container, said meanscomprising a plurality of metallic spools having their upper endssecured to the bottom of said container and their lower ends resting onan insulated partition spaced from the bottom of said container so as toprovide a flue therebetween for the circulation of air under saidcontainer, communicating means between said iiue and said duct,saidpartition being inclined outwardly and downwardly toward a wall sothat air cooled and densiiied by the refrigerant in said container willmove by gravity toward and into said duct through which it descends bygravity and enters the space between said floors.

3. In a refrigerator car having spaced apart insulated car walls, aninsulated roof, an insulated floor, a foraminous floor above theinsulated floor, an 'air space between said floorsin combination with arefrigerant lcontainer positioned under the roof and adjacent a wall,supporting means for'said container, said means comprising a pluralityof metallic spools' having their upper ends secured to the bottom ofsaid container and their lower ends resting on an insulated partitionspaced from the bottom of said container so as to provide a fluetherebetween for the circulation of air under said container, carlinesextending -between and secured to said walls, the tops of said carlinesengaging the underside of said partition so as to support the combinedweight of said partition, .said container and the refrigerant therein.

4. In a refrigerator car having spaced apart insulated car walls, aninsulated roof, an insulated floor, a foraminous floor -above theinsulated floor, an air space between said floors in combination with arefrigerant lcontainer positioned under the roof and adjacent a wall,supporting means for said container, said means comprising a pluralityof metallic spools having their upper ends secured to the bottom of saidcontainer and their lower ends resting on an insulated partition spacedfrom the bottom of said container so as to provide a flue therebetweenfor the circulation of air under said container, carlines extendingbetween and secured to said walls, the tops of said carlines engagingthe underside of said partition so as to support the combined weight ofsaid partition, said container and the refrigerant therein, said spoolsbeing arranged and associated so that some of the spools are directlyabove and alined with one of said carlines.

`5. In a refrigerator car having spaced apart insulated car walls, aninsulated roof, an insulated oor, a foraminous floor above the insulatedfloor, an air space between said floors in combination with arefrigerant container positioned under theroof and adjacent a wall,supporting means for said container, said means comprising a pluralityof metallic spools having their upper ends secured to the bottom of saidcontainer and their lower endsresting on an insulated partition spacedfrom the bottom of sai-d container so as to provide a flue therebetweenfor the circulation of air under said container, inverted vU shapedcarlines extending between and secured to said walls, the tops of saidcarlines engaging the underside of said partition l so as to support thecombined weight of said partition and said container, the dependingsides of said U shaped carlines terminating in parallel anges of uniformwidth extending outwardly and upwardly, a plurality of memberspositioned under said carlinesin transverse relation thereto, saidmembers having rebent ends adapted to slidably engage said flanges so asto provide means for suspending a lading from said carlines.

6. Means to restrain the container described in claim 1 from shiftinglaterally due to service movements of the car, said means consisting ofa plurality of `depending studs secured to the roof and protruding fromthe underside thereof and anges extending outwardly from the top edgesof the sides and ends of the container, said flanges having a pluralityof holes therein, said holes being arranged to engage said studs whenthe container is positioned in the car.

7. Means to restrain the `container described in claim 4 from shiftinglaterally .due to service movements of the car, said means consisting ofone of the spools of claim 4 being hollow and positioned over a holeextending through said partition and a member secured to the top of saidcarline, said member being adapted to extend through said hole andengage said spool.

8. Means to restrain the container described in claim 4 from shiftinglaterally due to service movements of the car, said means consisting ofone of the spools of claim. 4 being hollow and positioned over a holeextending through said partition, a hollow member secured to the top ofsaid carline, said member being adapted toex tend through said holeandenter said spool and securing means adapted to extend through saidhollow member whereby said spool is connected to said earline andsecured with relation thereto'.

9. Means to support the carline. described in claim 3, said meansconsisting of a metallic member positioned lengthwise of the car, aboveand parallel to said floor and adjacent a side wall, said `member havinga vertical leg secured to said wall and a horizontal portion extendingaway from said wall to form a shelf, a section of 15 said horizontalportion cut out to form a gap in said shelf, a second metallic memberrspanning said gap and having its ends resting on said shelf, saidsecond member forming a seat for the ends of'said carline.

'10.. Means to support the carline described in .claim 3, said meansconsisting of a metallic member positioned lengthwise of the car, aboveand kparallel to said floor and adjacent a side wall, said member havinga vertical leg secured tol said wall and a horizontal portion extendingaway from said wall to form a shelf, a section of said horizontalportion cut out to form a gap in said shelf, a second metallic memberspanning said vgapand having its ends resting on said shelf, said secondmember forming a seat for the ends of said carline, and means to securesaid second member to said shelf and said carline respectively.

1l. In a refrigerator car as described in claim 3 and having a pluralityof spaced apart refrigerant containers, metallic sheet members spanningthe spaces between and supported by said containers, said 'containersand said members engaging the underside of said roof to support theinsulating material thereof.

l2. In a refrigerator car as described in claim 3 and having a pluralityof spaced apart refrigerant containers, metallic sheet members spanningthe spaces between and supported by said containers, said members havingupwardly embossed portions engaging the insulating material of the roofto help hold it in place.

13. In a refrigerator car having spaced apart walls, a vertical ductassociated with one of said walls, a refrigerant container below theroof and adjacent said wall, a partition below said container in spacedrelation thereto to pro-vide a fiue which communicates with the upperpart of said duct, means to support said container on said partition,and means to support said partition, said first mentioned meanscomprising spools disposed between said container and said partition.

14. In a refrigerator car having spaced apart walls, a vertical ductassociated with one of said walls, a refrigerant container below theroof and adjacent said wall, a partition below said container in spacedrelation thereto to provide a ue which communicates with the upper partof said duct, means to support said container on said partition, andmeans to support said partition, said first mentioned means comprisingspools rsecured to the bottom of said container.

15. In a refrigerator car having spaced apart walls, a vertical ductassociated with one of said walls, a refrigerant container. below theroof and adjacent said wall, a partition. below said container in spacedrelation thereto to provide a ue which communicates with the upper partof said duct, means to support said container on.

said partition, and means to support said partition, said rst mentionedmeans comprising spools disposed between said container and saidpartition, said last mentioned means comprising carlines extendingbetween and secured tosaid walls. l

16. In a refrigerator` car having spaced apart walls, a vertical ductassociated with one of said walls, a refrigerant Icontainer below therooand adjacent said wall, a partition below said con-` tainer in spacedrelation thereto to provide a flue which communicates with the upperpart of said duct, means tcsupport said container o-n said partition,and means to support said partition, said first mentioned meanscomprising spools disposed between said container and said partition,said last mentioned means comprising carlines extending between andsecured to said walls, said carlines being disposed below some of saidspools.

17. In a refrigerator car having spaced apart walls, a refrigerantcontainer below the roof and adjacentone of said walls, a partitionbelow said container in spaced relation thereto, means to.7

support said container on said partition, and means to support saidpartition, said last mentioned means comprising spools disposed betweensaid container and said partition. n

VICTOR E. WEST.

